PORTLAND – Whatever strategy the Dallas Mavericks employ when the face Portland on Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Moda
Center, it likely will include trying to rattle Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
When the Blazers defeated the Mavs, 136-117, on Saturday, it was primarily on the back of the 36 points, five rebounds and 10 assists which Lillard collected. The Mavs know they can’t afford to have a repeat performance like that from Lillard when the two clubs meet for the second time on consecutive nights in the same arena.
Lillard was 11-of-20 from the field, 4-of-11 from three-point land and made all 10 of his free throws. He was all over the place while making life miserable for the Mavs.
“(He was) just attacking the whole time,” Mavs point guard Luka Doncic said. “He’s a great shooter, so you’ve got to pick him up almost at halftime.
“(He was) just being aggressive and driving the ball, and getting to the free throw line and getting to the paint.”
Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic also was aggressive as he finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in only 23 minutes, and Anfernee Simons added 21 points and five assists.
While the Blazers doubled Doncic nearly every time he touched the ball — holding him to a season-low 15 points on 7-of-19 shooting — Spencer Dinwiddie and Reggie Bullock led the way on offense for the Mavs. Dinwiddie finished with a team-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shots, while Bullock converted 8-of-10 shots from three-point range.
The eight made triples were a career-high for Bullock, who had converted just 7-of-26 shots from downtown in his previous five games.
*This is the finale of a five-
game road trip for the Mavs before they fly home to face the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at American Airlines Center. The Mavs are 1-3 on this road trip. They lost at Oklahoma City, 120-109, on Jan. 8, lost at the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-101, last Tuesday, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-115, in double-overtime this past Thursday, and dropped Saturday’s matchup with the Blazers, 136-119.
*As they were scampering up and down the floor on Saturday, the Blazers outscored the Mavs in fast break points, 24-9. That 15-point edge almost turned out to be the difference in a game Portland won by 17 points.
*The 15 points Luka Doncic scored were just the second time this season he was held under 20 points. The other time occurred when he tallied 19 points on Dec. 19 at Minnesota when he received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
*The Blazers outrebounded the Mavs on Saturday, 47-25, including 10-2 on the offensive boards. Portland also outscored the Mavs in all four quarters., including 40-26, in the second quarter.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (24-20) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (20-22)
When: 8 p.m., Sunday
Where: Moda Center, Portland
TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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